Scandalous
by RiKowalSkiPrivate
Summary: Ever wonder what Marlene's "scandal" was about? And how exactly did she come to New York City? When was the first time she met the penguins?


Had you been walking outside the computer room's door, down the hallway toward the employee lounge and the exit, you wouldn't have noticed anything... unless you had bothered looking down. For on the other side of the door, streaming through the crack where it met the cold floor, was a faintly glowing light.

This light, it should be said, was not easily seen unless one was looking for it; nor was it coming from a lamp or flashlight. It was tinged with a blueish aura, almost as if it was fluorescent or LED - which is was. For inside, a lone otter worked with a fury.

The computer room was small. Cluttered. Dark as night, aside from the glow of the monitor. _Click, click, click,_ went the mouse as the otter went to work, trying to understand the letters and numbers that filled the screen, none of which she had the knowledge required to understand. But she knew computers; she could do this.

Her objective was simple; figure out how to vote for herself multiple times in the annual internet competition. A look of utter confusion say upon her face, but that look soon gave way to a grin.

There, on the screen, was her face. A photo, perhaps, or a screen shot from a video? Near the side of this photo was a white box with a gleaming, animated trophy. She found the button! Now all that was left to do was to sit and click... Right after she learned how to do it again and again.

She reached out with her paw, gasping the mouse. Swiftly, the arrowed whizzed across the screen until it stopped atop the trophy._ Click. _

It was then that the screen changed; new words appeared, saying:

_Thank you for participating in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Internet Popularity Contest!_

She didn't understand. She hit the X, and the box disappeared. Could she not vote again? But no, her picture was still there, along with the pictures of all the other aquarium sea creatures. Click it again, she decided. And she did. So many times that if the mouse could speak, it might have said: "Make her stop! Oh please, make her stop!"

Ticks and tocks emitted from the clock somewhere above Marlene, and her eyes began to feel the strain of time. Anyone might have experienced the same pain she felt; the pain of using the computer longer than advised, and in the dark no less.

Through the window, through which she had sneaked inside, she felt the cool breeze of a mild August night ripple her fur. A deep breath of salty ocean air was just what she needed. And still more time passed.

Her by now bloodshot eyes stopped their intense gazing at the screen; her right paw stopped its obnoxious clicking. She noticed the clock on the wall. She blinked. Wait, she could see the clock?

Almost giving herself whiplash from turning to face the window, she saw, on the other side of the glass, the sparkling tip of the bright morning sun; apparently morning came earlier than she first expected.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, panicked.

Vaulting off that leather office chair from which she once sat seconds ago, caused its wheels spinning backwards loudly until -_ THUD!_ It slammed into the nearby wall. The noise this created didn't seem to bother her, for to the window she scurried, and with many pants of breath too.

"What was that?!" Yelled a man. A very angry man.

The window, being close to the floor, only took a plastic box Marlene pushed underneath to reach it. In seconds she was up above the top and was stepping backwards out the window.

_BANG-BANG-BANG!_ The man, no doubt a security guard, sounded as though he could rip the door off its hinges. But Marlene wasn't going to stay around and test that theory.

She hanged there momentarily, feet hanging inches before the pavement below, before her legs landed on the ground. A flash of pain pierced through her body. The gravel was hard, a lot harder than the dirt or grass she was so used too. But what did she expect? A soft and squishy landing?

Then there came to her ears, if you had ever been to the beach you could imagine, the sound of the Pacific Ocean waves crashing into faulted rocks, creating its many random frequencies. She was at the backside of the aquarium, for the building had been built on the shoreline and this side faced the Ocean. Marlene felt almost tempted to be out there in the water, free at last.

On all four of her paws she ran; they rubbed against the rough surface of the sidewalk; a feeling she had never felt before. Where was she going? She didn't know. There were no roads here. She had only the sidewalk's path to follow.

But soon her frantic race ended as she passed a corner,revealing an open space that had many possible routes for her to go. She stood there, contemplating. Looking left, she saw it leads to the ocean, from off a long narrow deck. However, when she looked right, she immediately noticed an alleyway. Where it led to? It was too far away to tell, but the little otter took off in that direction.

Her stubby little legs paced forward. Her arms swung non-simultaneously; her walking slowly evolving to a jog. As her shadow ran with her, she noticed it grew, almost twice as tall as she. Marlene twisted her head around, looking back. That moon she had seen earlier was now gone, and in its place the sun rised above the sea, illuminating the water in colors of a deep orangey-pink. It was beautiful, she couldn't help but think, an unforgettable sight.

But maybe I feel this good because I did it, she thought. She successfully did what she came to do and even got away from a guard. She felt like Kim Possible, doing super-spy stuff. The otter mumbled a tune under her breath, and then began full out singing a rock song. It was as if someone had plugged invisible earphones onto Marlene's head. Out loud, as she jogged, she sang a favorite:

_Made a mistake when you messaged you me, _  
_shoulda' known better and let it be! _  
_Making dumb choices it one of your flaws, _  
_so look out baby, here comes the claws!_

She felt a burst of energy in a body that hadn't slept for almost a day. Her speed picked up. The alleyway wasn't that far now...

_Yah! Here come the claws! _  
_Wahoo! Here come the claws!_

A large sign displayed above the tunnel read: Hovden Way.

_Now do you get it, do you see? _  
_Life would be better if you'd leave! _  
_Maybe you'd back off it you saw, _  
_me flying at you with my claws!_

_Yeah, here come the claws! _  
_Yeahoo! Here come the claws!_

The tunnel had simply been something you can easily walk, a passage to the street on the other end, of course. Marlene worried it was longer, darker - maybe even leading someplace away from the Aquarium, but you couldn't blame her for being so cautious. She never really been outside before, and did this really count as being outside anyways?

As she thought this, she stared at an average old town - something Marlene never thought she'd see aside from the T.V. Storefronts, bike racks, street lamps, and parked cars. Many of the shops were not open yet, no people walked the streets, and the parked cars were empty. Nobody was there to see the small otter scurry up the street.

The aquarium's logo that looked like some sort of underwater plant spun into a circle, was there; it was painted on a white brick wall near two sets of front doors.

And not just any doors. It's the Aquarium's entrance! Marlene noticed all the lamp posts had flags advertising the Wild About Otters exhibit she belongs too, or maybe belonged. The otter wasn't quite sure what the consequences would be for her. And if she got caught, everyone would know she was the one to hack the computer system. She couldn't let it happen.

But those flags on the lamp posts hadn't changed since 3 years ago; they still looked new; no rips or stains, and they continued rippling in the soft wind as bold as ever. She smiled as she gazed up, remembering a long time ago...

Hooray! The crowd cheered. People gathered around to see the little otter received her second trophy. Marlene stood upon a stand of three levels, her being the highest level with a big #1 written on it. It reminded her of the Olympic Games, when athletes became champions.

The owner of the Aquarium proudly handed her the large golden trophy she's been eyeing all afternoon. She smiled in its golden reflection.

"Can I hear a woot woot?" Called the man. The crowd woot-wooted. "Louder people! It's not everyday one of our fine otters hits Twelve millions views on a single video!"

At that the crowd roared. Kids jumped up and down. Adults applaud and waved their hands around. Elders lifted their cranes in the air. People were crazy about Marlene.

"And now for a speech from the one and only Marlene!" A worker placed a microphone in front of her.

"I want to thank my mom, my friends, my inspiration, Enrico Guitaro, and most of all my fans. I love you guys."

Nobody could understand her though, except for maybe the other otters who were also there. But humans could only hear a squeaking sound.

"The most popular otter in the world!" The owner cried, and with his help, he and Marlene lifted the trophy up high for all to see.

"This way!" The guard's voice snapped her back into reality. "It went this way!"

For a moment, Marlene forgot where she was. But a quick look at those doors reminded her; she was running for her life.

Something about those doors intimidated her, and the more she hesitated, the more annoyed with herself she became. Why couldn't she, in the most intense of times, just open a door? A mad man was after her for goodness sake! This really wasn't the time to change the original plan.

Mustering her strength, and eager to press forward knowing a livid security dude was on his way, Marlene pushed aside the door and took one brave step inside.

Which, of course, was a big mistake. Should she have turned back once seeing what stood inside? Yes. Did she? No. She froze; heart ready to escape her chest.

Eight humans, heavily guarded with guns, burly and hairy humans, looked right at her. Some wore the expressions of confusion, while others looked like they've never seen an otter before.

Marlene did not see the scrawniest of the men pull out a small dart gun and take aim at her. One fast click later, a needle-like bullet dashed through the air and dug itself into Marlene's skin of her right thigh.

"Hey!" She squeaked, placing a paw over the needle and pulling it out. She stumbled in an attempt to move, but her eyelids were shutting against her will. Her paws reached out in a pathetic attempt to grab something.

She collapsed on the floor, fast asleep.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Penguins of Madagascar show.

**Special Thanks: **A big thank you to my beta, Rage. You've been a tremendous help with this story!

**A/N: **I hope you enjoy this first chapter to a three-chapter fanfic I've been working on for almost a year. Did you guys notice I added lyrics to Marlene's original song from "Truth Ache?"


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